Applications are invited for a fully funded 3-year PhD fellowship based at INRAE Montpellier (France), aiming at characterizing the genetic bases of adaptation in wheat wild relatives. Studying the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms underlying species response to selection is crucial to understand how biodiversity and agroecosystems may adapt to current global changes. There is evidence that the probability that the same genetic variants are mobilized in response to selection depends on populations and species divergence (e.g. Bohutínská/et al./, 2021). A relevant strategy to quantify to which extent different species adapt through the same genes/alleles is to investigate the signatures of selection in a multispecies comparative setting. This PhD proposal addresses this question using as model system the Triticeae, a family of grasses that includes worldwide staples wheat, barley and rye, and their wild relatives (Glémin/et al./, 2019; Burgarella/et al./2023). We will leverage transcriptomic and genomic data to investigate the molecular signatures of selection at two evolutionary scales, i.e. phylogenetic and within-species levels, with approaches of molecular evolution, population genomics and bioinformatics. The PhD student will be hosted by the team GE2pop (/Evolutionary genomics and population management/), UMR AGAP Institut (https://umr-agap.cirad.fr/en). Supervisors will be Concetta Burgarella (population geneticist, INRAE), Nathalie Chantret (evolutionary genomicist, INRAE) and Vincent Ranwez (molecular phylogeneticist, Institut Agro Montpellier). We are looking for applicant holding a MSc. Degree and with expertise in evolutionary biology and genomic data analysis. Interested candidates should provide: (1) a motivation letter with a statement of research interests, skills and experience relevant to the position, (2) a CV, (3) contact details of two referees, (4) copies of previous degrees and transcripts of records and (5) a copy of the master thesis. Candidatures or informal queries should be emailed to concetta.burgarella@inrae.fr,nathalie.chantret@inrae.fr and vincent.ranwez@supagro.fr. The deadline to apply is August 25th. The start date is flexible during autumn 2024. A more detailed version of the proposal is available here: https://umr-agap.cirad.fr/content/download/7560/68385/version/1/file/PhD_triticeae_GE2pop_AGAP.pdf Bohutínská, M., Vlèek, J., Yair, S., Laenen, B., Koneèná, V., Fracassetti, M., et al. (2021) Genomic basis of parallel adaptation varies with divergence in Arabidopsis and its relatives. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118, e2022713118. Burgarella, C., Brémaud, M.-F., Hirschheydt, G.V., Viader, V., Ardisson, M., Santoni, S.,/et al./(2023) Mating systems and recombination landscape strongly shape genetic diversity and selection in wheat relatives. bioRxiv doi: 10.1101/2023.03.16.532584 Glémin, S., Scornavacca, C., Dainat, J., Burgarella, C., Viader, V., Ardisson, M.,/et al./(2019) Pervasive hybridizations in the history of wheat relatives./Science Advances/,*5*, eaav9188. Best regards, Concetta Burgarella Concetta Burgarella INRAe, Equipe Genomique Evolutive et Gestion des Populations UMR AGAP Batiment Arcad 10 rue Arthur Young 34090 Montpellier concetta.burgarella@inrae.fr www.inrae.fr Concetta Burgarella (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)